Slashing Sulfur Dioxide Pollution In Homer City

The Homer City Generating Station in Pennsylvania.

Photo courtesy of Jon Dawson

What's at Stake

Sulfur dioxide (SO2) pollution is extremely dangerous—just five minutes of exposure can lead to breathing problems, lung disease and heart attacks. A precedent-setting Earthjustice lawsuit led to EPA-enforced hourly SO2 limits that will benefit residents in the region, particularly children, the elderly and asthmatics.

Case Overview

The Homer City Generating Station, a coal plant in western Pennsylvania, is a terrible neighbor. In 2010, the plant released more sulfur dioxide (SO2)—which can cause breathing problems, lung disease and heart attacks after only five minutes of exposure—than any other industrial facility in the nation. Data from the Clean Air Task Force has estimated that pollution from the plant contributes to 43 premature deaths, 72 heart attacks and 650 asthma attacks every year.

Hopefully, that’s about to change for the better. A precedent-setting Earthjustice lawsuit led to EPA-enforced hourly limits that will benefit residents in the region, particularly children, the elderly and asthmatics. The hourly controls were established in recognition of sulfur dioxide’s capacity to cause serious health impacts after short periods of exposure.

As efforts unfold across the country to clean up old, dirty coal-fired power plants, the hourly SO2 limits at Homer City will serve as a critical precedent that will influence coal plant cleanup.

Health and environmental groups are challenging the EPA's faulty approval of Los Angeles’ South Coast Air Quality Management District regional smog plan. The plan allows for filthy air, deferred emissions reductions and continued pollution in the nation’s most smog-polluted region.